Other U.S. Professional sports do not allow fighting. OK for 1920's, but it's 2013. Not avid watcher, but I will watch any sport for 10 minutes to see a great athlete. Can't watch hockey when they start fighting. Looks ridiculous and unprofessional. It takes away from the game. Players can't fight in grade school, high school, college, minor league, but they can fight in the pros; that's ridiculous. And to have goons just for fighting, basketball got rid of those guys years ago. It seems hypocritical to claim to be a role model and tells kids to show good sportsmanship when you're fighting other players. It may also be hindering the sport financially. I think fighting is one of the things limiting minority interest in the sport. They may be less likely to play or attend the game because of fighting. Blacks in the U.S. Contribute over $2 billion to U.S. Economy, which The NHL is not tapping into as much as they possibly could.

Fighting in hockey has no benefits whatsoever. It does not give points, advantages to the team that won the fight, and fighting in hockey does not only further endanger the players from avoidable injuries, but also sets a bad example to kids that watches the sport. Baseball, Football, and Soccer does not allow fighting and yet they prosper. Fighting in hockey is not needed.

Fighting Is Illegal

Fighting, in itself, is assault. Assault is illegal. Assault prison sentences carry a sentence of up to 12 years imprisonment, playing a game of hockey should not be an excuse.Fighting and ice is a lethal combination. An accident could cause irrefutable damage to the body or even death. The risk of this is absalutely needless.

Ban Fighting

They should ban fighting in hockey. I want to see fights in hockey just as bad as the next guy. and in all honesty thats the only reason i watch it as well. but fighting needs to be banned for some reasons.
1. Not good for the human body in general.
2. Its partially illegal.
3. It will bring out the true fans in hockey.

Promoting unnecessary violence?

Hockey is almost like a family event, parents take their kids up there to have a good time. When the hockey players start fighting that's pretty much like promoting violence by letting them "duke" it out. If you take your kids up there and they see a fight because one guy runs into another, they might think it's okay at school to hit someone just for running into them. Don't get me wrong, I love to see some punches get thrown. But I think if you wanna see fighting you should be watching UFC or boxing instead.

It serves no purpose to the actual game

Why would this ever be allowed. It is not allowed in any other professional sport. It makes what could be a great game stupid. Nice work NHL. There is not a person on the planet that could give a valid reason to allow fighting. Checking sure. If you want to watch boxing watch boxing.

Strong over the weak is animal nature, with added human higher brain function, this is used in society and between countries to ALLOW for violence.

I understand that fighting is part of the game and really it brings the fans into the game and adds those excitements which every sports are based on. It is in essence a development in society today that pretty much emphasis on being powerful and strong and stress the point that the weak will not survive and the strong will dominate. This is in animal kingdom and therefore in human nature as well. For animals, it is that way so that those strong will survive and the weak shall die. It is part of evolution and since they do not have higher brain function like humans that is their own means of weapon against their natural enemy. For humans however, since we can reason, people have used this point to dominate over other countries, peoples and races and therefore racism, holocaust, and superiority existed. Although they are little different, it is part of the same train of thought that the strong SHOULD live and the weak SHOULD die. Everyone wants to see a fight because it gives them the adrenaline pumping they can not get themselves because most would not willingly subject themselves to injuries or death but would gladly see others do that because it is not THEM. This is the reason western society dominates over other societies in history and currently.Today, fighting exist also albeit in a more controlled manner in boxing matches and UFCs. However, it is all actions to mask the human nature to project dominance over the weak and to prove that point. People have to admit that we all love violence, war and suffering of others because that is how we can survive in this society of survival of the fittest. In fact, it is how animals have to do and we humans are animals. People stop by accident sites because they wish to satisfy their hunger for violence and tragedy and to feel sympathy for them because that is how normal people gain the sense of dominance over the weak. We all do it, but we do not admit it because doing that would show signs of weakness. Human nature will not change and nor will people's opinions on it. Everyone wishes for fighting, those 36% supporting the banning fighting are ones that are still willing to challenge the inevitable fate of mankind. The rest of the population is simply going with the flow and saying the right things nature intended. No one is wrong in the sense that no one is right. Nature is beyond human understanding and therefore can not be reasoned. We reason because we wish to be bigger than nature, to defy nature, and to challenge nature. I wish to say that the question of whether fighting should be banned in hockey is a question that will determine the fate of mankind. Instead of fighting for the correct answer, people should really look into themselves and ask themselves the question, "Why should it matter to you"?

Hockey Sportsmanship: down the drain

Contact is one thing but fighting is another; no other sport permits this. People who say fighting should be permitted do not care about the sport of hockey but are watching for the violence. If you want to watch fighting, watch mixed martial arts or boxing, etc. Sportsmanship in the game of hockey has gone down the toilet.

Fighting Does Not Change Momentum or Police the Game

Those are the common myths presented by the pro-fight crowd but don't stand up to the facts. I have posted many articles on my blog (ItsNotPartoftheGame) that present real statistics that shows there is no impact on momentum or a game outcome from a fight, and linked to other studies with the same conclusion. I have also analyzed stats from past decades that show teams who fight the most will also incur more non-fighting PIM. Games that have a fight will also have more cheap shots and dangerous penalties. There is no policing, only revenge and that leads to more violence. You just have to look at the 80's, a period where enforcers were in their heyday. It was also one of the most violent decades in the NHL with spearing, slashing, elbowing and boarding a common occurrence. All those enforcers didn't clean up the league, they increased the violence and cheap shots. Hockey should be showcasing the skill of the players, fast action and hard hits. Not a couple of dancing bears at centre ice.

Fighting is Illegal

If fighting in the streets is considered assault why should fighting on National Television be any different. All so all the head injuries that are brought upon player while fighting is outstandingly dangerous. We need to stop all this public display of violence and start showing the bad side (the repercussions) of the fights.

For five minutes, you get a time out and feel ashamed of yourself for what you did. These are professionals in great shape putting on a show, and the extreme aggression (fighting) is a small part of it. Fighting is a quick fix for the adrenaline rush when things aren't going your way and frustration kicks in during such an intense, high speed game. For those who want to ban fighting in a boxing match (or UFC) as well, maybe they could invent a new hockey league without fighting. But leave the NHL alone, it was built that way. And I also think those people who don't like to watch it should have the right to change the channel as well as not attend any functions they see unfit.

Fans are the one who come to games. Fans are the ones who enjoy watching fights. Fans are the ones watching hockey players enjoy what they are doing. People who say "no" are the ones jealous that they aren't getting paid millions of dollars to be the tough guy. Hockey is fighting, fighting gets fans and the teams into the game, fighting shows the hate and respect between players and teams. Without fighting, the game of hockey would show much less skill and thoughts..

you obviously dont know hockey if you are going to ban fighting

If you are going to say hockey is assault it isnt. If two people are fighting controlled its not assaault. Saying its assault is the same thing as saying boxing or ufc is assault. It is a part of the game, fighting gets the team going it shows dominance. Also if you took fighting away the tesams would sell half to amount of tickets as they do now. If you say they should take fighting away from the game you dont know what your talking about you. You have to have never played or been apart of the game

Heck no....

It's part of the sport. There's very few hockey teams that don't have atleast one fight. No one gets seriously injured plus it gets the fans up and going for the game. Even after the fights both teams are still cordial with each other. Kids see more violence in movies and on the news than they do in hockey and they still turn out just fine.

A players view

I, as a player, think fighting is an amazing part of the sport. 2-1 down in the 3rd period. The whole team had the faces on. We were done! One of our players dropped the gloves with this huge big bruiser and, fair enough, he got his butt kicked. But he came out smiling, grinning and celebrating. The whole bench was laughing and our spirits were raised, we scored 3 goals in less than 6 minutes, won the game. People who say fighting doesnt help the team dont know what theyre talking about...

Violence = sustenance

Fighting should not be banned in hockey because in order for the sport to prosper, it needs the support of fans. And by human nature, the fans like / expect to see fights in hockey games. If players did not expect violence, then they would (and should) choose a different sport.

Fighting Needs to STAY

Unless you have played the sport, you would not understand the importance of fighting in the game. Taking fighting out of hockey would like be taking the DH out of basbeball. Some guys make a living off of being the sniffing salt for the team. Hockey without fighting would just not be the same game

It's a fundamental part of hockey

This debate comes up every year: should we ban fighting in hockey? Without fighting, there would be a significant number of players out of a job. Some defensemen are only on the team to protect the forwards, centers, etc. If these men weren't on the ice, forwards would be able to have their way with goaltenders, like "accidentally" running into the goalie & trying to literally take him out of the game in order to gain an edge. I feel like a good defenseman will protect the goal & keep other players in check or to keep peace. Ref's don't see every aspect of this fast-paced game, so these guys make sure that board checks & a few punches bring other teams' players back to Earth - Play right, man....smack!!!

Fighting itself is a way to keep people in line.

If fighting was banned from hockey, players would be more aggressive on the ice as they would not be kept in line. The rate of injury in fights is 0.39% of players while body checking on ice injuries is 4.5% of players. If fighting is taken out the number of injuries will go up.

Fighting is a Part of Hockey.

Fighting has been a part of hockey pretty much right from the beginning. To take it out would mean that A. The sport would not be as entertaining, and B. It settles some on-ice arguments. Another thing is that proves a player's motivation and spirit towards the game. Fighting should not be banned because it is a major part of the sport I know and love, hockey.

To the people who say Fighting has no benifites it gets your team momentum and gets them pumped up and they don't fight cause they hate each other they fight to get there team momentum or get a point acrossed

Ms. Black Language arts CNovember 27, 2013Fighting In HockeySome people think that fighting in hockey should be banned because they think fighting is dangerous but what they don’t know is hockey would be more dangerous without fighting. When you take the time and think, you realize hockey would be a lot safer with fighting. The game of hockey shouldn’t change, it should stay the same. Fighting in hockey should not banned because it is part of the game, the players chose to fight or not, and it can prevent injuries.Fighting is a part of hockey and it always was and always should be. Fighting has been around forever in hockey and it should continue on like that. Hockey is a rough game and you have to be tough and not scared to play it. If you don’t like the violence and fighting in hockey then you shouldn’t consider playing the sport. There will always be some sort of fighting in hockey forever.The players on ice chose whether to fight or not. If one player wants to fight another player and he agrees then it is their chance to get hurt. In the 2010 NHL season there were 1230 regular season games and there were 645 fights. Don cherry said on Hockey Night in Canada “you fight you get hurt, that’s the name of the game”. In the game of hockey, players should be allowed to fight and it should be there decision. If you didn’t know, fighting actually causes fewer injuries in hockey. Fighting takes away dirty hits and plays in hockey. When people are mad at each other in hockey they often try to check them as hard as they can to hurt them. In hockey right up until the end of midget you are not allowed to fight so there are a lot of dirty plays. When you watch the Titan games and NHL games you don’t see a lot of hits but what you do see is fights. Fighting in hockey takes away dirty penalties like head shots and hitting from behind.In conclusion fighting should not be banned from hockey. Fighting can save the game of hockey and can also cause fewer injuries. Fighting has been allowed in hockey for a long time and it should continue to be like that. Hockey is a rough sport and fighting is entertaining for the fans and the people who watch the game of hockey.